Stories of Scarves and Hats
by Adulson
Summary: Korra stayed silent and thought of the best way to ask the question. She looked up at the ceiling, trying to form the right words. When she was ready, she faced Mako once more. "Do you think they would have liked me?" "Who?" Mako asked with a raised eyebrow. "Your parents."


**Hello! So pretty much in this little diddy, Korra asks Mako if his parents would have liked her. Then she gets insecure for a minute but Mako is there to cheer her up.**

** This was originally going to be shorter. Like, I was going to end it after Mako reassured her and answered her question, but then that lead to more brainstorming and soon this just got longer and longer. I wasn't originally going to have him describe his parents to Korra but the idea kinda just punched me in the face and I **_**had**_** to write it. And yeah, sorry it's more dialog than what I usually write. It's a lot more since it's Mako telling her stories, ya know?**

** So, please! Enjoy the fic! Reveiw if you like or don't review at all! 'S all good!**

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Korra was laying on her back in silence, staring up at the ceiling. Mako was next to her, chest slowly rising and falling in his sleep. She turned over on her side to face him, his face was soft and gentle. There was something on Korra's mind. Something she had been thinking about for the past few days. She needed to ask Mako about it.

She sat up and rested her back against the wooded headboard. Was this a question that could wait until morning or should she risk a grumpy Mako and wake him up now to ask? She furrowed her eyebrows. She wanted to ask him now.

Korra turned her head toward her lover and gently shook his shoulder, "Mako. Mako, wake up."

He groaned in response and turned over on his side, back facing her. The Sun was not rising, it wasn't time for him to wake up. Korra pouted and tried once more, "Mako! Wake up, I need to ask you something."

Mako sighed and sat up. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and faced his girlfriend, "Korra, whatever it is you need to ask, can't it wait until morning?"

"No, it's important."

"Alright, what is it," the firebender inquired, "What question was so important that you had to wake me up in the middle of the night?"

Korra stayed silent and thought of the best way to ask the question. She looked up at the ceiling, trying to form the right words. When she was ready, she faced Mako once more.

"Do you think they would have liked me?"

"Who?" Mako asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Your parents."

Mako's amber eyes softened and his face became gentle, no longer annoyed by being woken up. He remembers always asking Korra what her parents thought of him when they had started dating. He shifted his body closer to her and laced his fingers with her's.

"Why are you asking?"

She shrugged and averted her eyes away from him, "I don't know. I just... I would always hear Bolin tell Tenzin's kids about how sweet and kind your parents were, and I'm kind of... Well I'm the opposite of that."

"Korra-"

"I mean, I'm not exactly the most patient person in the world. I'm impulsive and I always get into to trouble. I mean, I'm going to be eighteen soon and I'm the Avatar. I shouldn't be getting into that kind of stuff."

"Korra, a lot of people our age get's into trouble every now and then. It's alright-"

"No, it's not! The kind I get into is different."

Mako smiled softly at her and lightly squeezed her hand, "Well, you're the Avatar. It comes with the package."

Korra smiled back at him. The smile was gone soon, once all of her other insecurities came flooding out of her. She ran her free hand through her chocolate hair and sighed.

"I don't exactly have the greatest temper either. I get so angry so fast sometimes. I'm sure your mom you have hated that," Korra's voice was starting to crack now, "I can also be selfish sometimes. No parent would want their son to date an impulsive, hot-headed, self-centered, troubling making Avatar."

Mako placed his pale hand on her cheek and leaned in to place a small kiss on her lips. Her sapphire eyes stared into his amber ones. He rested his forehead on her's, the tips of their noses touching.

"Korra, listen to me. Don't interrupt me. Let me say what I have to. Alright?"

She nodded, indicated that she understood.

"Yes, you can be very impatient and impulsive. But there were times when your impulsiveness has saved us from danger. Yes, there are times when you get yourself into trouble, but there were times when trouble found you, whether you wanted it or not."

His thumb started to draw small circles on her cheek. She closed her eyes and listened to his voice.

"You can be very hot-headed, yes. You lose your temper, just like I do. You aren't the only one. Master Tenzin, Pema, Cheif Beifong, Iroh. They all get angry once in a while. It's okay."

"But, I-"

He removed his hand from her cheek and placed his index finger against her lips, "Shh shh, let me finish," she apologized and he continued, "There were also times where you were selfish. But, Korra, it's alright. You are also selfless. In fact, you're the most selfless person I know and I'm not just saying that because I love you."

A tinge of pink showed up across Korra's cheeks and she gave Mako and small smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist.

"Korra, my parents were kind and understanding people. They would not have cared about anything that you had said before. They would have known that it was all part of being human. I remember my mom losing patience and my dad losing his temper. I can also remember how patient they were when it came to me and Bo. We were two young, rambunctious boys. You would have had to have a lot of patience to deal with us when we were younger."

Korra laughed softly. She could imagine; Bolin and Mako being two hyperactive kids. She pictured their old home having burn marks on the wall and giant cracks in the floor. It reminded her of her home in the South Pole. The time she discovered she could earthbend and she made a hole from her room to outside. And how she set the fur pelts lining the wall to the living room on fire the day she discovered her firebending. She grew silent then. She wanted to learn more about his parents.

"Mako?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you...Could you tell me about them?"

"My parents?"

She nodded slowly, but then started to shake her head, "I mean, you don't have to. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, Korra it's fine. Come on, let's go to the kitchen. We're already wide awake, might as well talk over some tea. Will Tenzin mind if I made some?"

"No, I don't think he'll mind. There's plenty there."

The couple got up from the bed and quietly made their way to the kitchen. The hallway to the kitchen was dark and quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of their bare feet hitting the floor with each step.

They made it to the kitchen and switched on the lights. Korra sat at the table and Mako took out a kettle from one of the bottom cabinets and began to prepare the tea.

"So," he started, "Who do you want to know about first? My mom or dad?"

Korra was quiet for a moment and then gave her answer, "Your father."

"Alright," he walked over and sat across from Korra, waiting for the water to start boiling.

"What can I remember?" Mako mumbled the question to himself. He didn't Korra heard, but she did. And it broke her heart hearing him say it.

"Well, my dad was the one who was a firebender. I got most of my facial features from him except the shape of my face. My mom had the thinner face," Korra nodded and rested her chin in the palm of her hand, "He had the wide face, so Bo got that from him. He wasn't like a typical firebender, personality wise. He was a pretty fun-loving guy, always playing jokes on my mom. He even got me and Bo to play along with them."

"Me and my dad are the same way," Korra stated. "Once every two months, the White Lotus would let me visit my parents and every time my dad and I would just mess with my mom."

Mako gave a low chuckle and continued, "My dad was a chef at a small restaurant just outside of the Dragon Flats District. I would always watch him when he made dinner. He taught me how to make a few dishes. He would always make this huge special dinner whenever it was someone's birthday. So, I kinda wanted to keep up the tradition after me and Bolin moved into the attic of the arena. I took whatever money I had and bought everything I needed and made a special dinner for Bolin's birthday."

"What about you? Did you ever make a dinner for yourself?"

Mako shook his head, "Nah. I mean, I did bake myself a small cake once but I just let Bolin eat it. Dad never really made special dinners for himself either. Every time Mom would do it for him he argue with her to not do it. Not only because it was for him but also...well to be blunt, Mom wasn't exactly the greatest at cooking."

He looked down at the table laughed quietly, remembering memories of black smoke coming from the kitchen and his mother's shrill voice calling out how she burnt the food. He could hear his father's booming laugh as his mother scrambled around trying to put out the fire in the oven.

He looked back up at Korra, "Do you want to hear the story behind the scarf, too? It was my father's so it would be pretty relevant."

"Mmm hmm."

"Alright, well one Winter, I think I was about six years old, me and Dad were walking around the market to pick up food for dinner that night. My dad really liked scarves but he never had the money to buy one and when he did, he never got the chance to go out and buy one. We passed by this old woman who was selling small little things she knitted. Like mittens, socks, hats and-"

"Let me guess; Scarves?" Korra asked with a smirk.

Mako gave her a small smile, "Yeah, she had scarves, too. You should have seen how fast my dad picked me up and ran toward that stand. He was so happy. He was so excited when he heard the price. Each scarf was six Yuans! Do you know how much other scarves were in different stores?

"Man, was Dad excited. He set me on the ground and asked me which one he should get. I immediately pointed to the red one. The only red one there. I remember what I said when I pointed to it. I said, 'Get the red one because you can firebend and firebenders like red.' Spirts, he laughed so loud when I said it. People stopped walking and stared at us. I didn't care. I was six, why would I care you know? I just laughed with him."

Korra closed her eyes and laughed along with Mako. She was happy, just sitting here talking with him. She never got him to open up this much before. Maybe a little fact once or twice, but never like this. It was amazing.

"He bought me one, too. The woman was so happy he loved the scarves that she gave him a discount. He got me this really long, thick, light gray one. It would trail on the ground behind me, that's how long it was. He never left the house without it. He was just so happy to have it."

A loud shrill from the kettle made it's way to their ears. Mako quickly got up to take it off the stove, so as not to wake anyone up. He took out two cups and some tea leaves from one of the top cabinets.

"You were really close to your dad, huh?"

"Heh, yeah I guess you can say that. Bolin was more close to Mom."

"Figures he'd be a Momma's Boy," she said through small giggles.

Mako laughs along with Korra and sets a cup of tea in front of her, then sits back down.

"How about your mom? What was she like?"

Mako's amber eyes lit up like the Sun, "Mom was the greatest. I was close to her, too. Not as close I was with Dad but still close. She could earthbend, if you didn't already guess that. She wasn't born here in the city. She was from this small village in the Earth Kingdom. She was from Omashu-"

"Omashu! That's so far from here!"

"Yeah, her family liked to travel around a lot. She actually lived in other cities and villages before coming to Republic City. She was born in Omashu, though."

Korra nodded and took a sip of her tea, "What did she look like?"

Mako slid his thumbs up and down the sides of his cup, "She had really thick, light brown hair and she would always wear it in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder. She had green eyes, obviously, but they were a lot lighter in color than Bo's."

Korra tilted her head to the side. Lighter than Bolin's? Bolin's eyes were a light shade of green to begin with so she can only imagine the color of his mother's eyes.

"She was a stay-at-home mom. She had this garden in our backyard. She would use her earthbending to till the soil and back planting easier. Her garden was beautiful. Our neighbors would always come by and just peek into our yard to look at her flowers. Even total strangers stopped to look at her garden. And like how my dad would help me with firebending and cooking, Mom would help with his earthbending and she would let him help her with the garden." Mako then began to laugh hysterically, "I remember this one time, Bo was helping Mom and he was using his earthbending to till this small spot by the fence, right?"

Korra nodded, "Right."

"So, Bolin moved his foot a little harder than he should and this huge rock wall shot up and destroyed that whole half the fence."

Korra put her hand to her mouth and clutched her stomach, trying not to be too loud with her laughter. Soon, Mako joined and was laughing a little harder because of Korra's laugh. They quickly lost their breath and tears formed in the corner of their eyes. After he regained his composure, Mako started to speak again.

"Do you remember that hat you wore? When we snuck into that rally to save Bolin?"

"The one with the leaf on the rim?" Mako nodded, "Yeah I remember. I couldn't figure out why you had it since it was a girl's hat."

"It was my mother's hat. On her birthday, when I was seven and Bolin was five, Dad took us out to look for a birthday present for her. We looked everywhere for a gift but we couldn't afford most of them. We went into one last store. It was a hat store. The hats there were pretty expensive but we went in anyway hoping to find a cheap one mom would like. There was a bin on the floor by the counter and I went in to look for a hat. I found one; One with a leaf on the rim. I showed it to Dad and he asked the woman how much it was. I think it was ten Yuans, I don't remember. All I remember was my dad smiling and handing the woman the money.

"He left me and Bo to wrap it when we got home. We took all this old newspaper and glued it to the hat box and I tried to tie a ribbon using my gray scarf. After dinner, Bolin and I raced to get the gift. We practically threw it at her. She started to cry when she saw that hat. Bolin almost started crying, too. He thought she hated it. Then she hugged me and Bo. I almost couldn't breath, it was such a tight hug. That hat was to my mom like the scarf was to my dad. She always wore it. She even wore the night she was killed."

Korra reached over and grabbed Mako's hand from his cup and gave it a light squeeze, "Mako,"

"That night. I remember, we went to see a play. Bolin didn't come, he was sick so he stayed over a neighbor's house. It was Winter, so it was snowing really hard when we left the theater. Mom gave me her hat to keep the snow out of my hair and Dad gave me the scarf. I accidentally left mine at home. We took this shortcut and...And then-" His eyes started to become clouded with tears and a lump grew in his throat. He looked down into his lap.

"Mako, listen to me. You don't have to tell me anymore if you don't want to-"

Mako looked back up at Korra and nodded, "Right. Someday I'll tell you. I guess I'm just not ready yet."

Korra gave him a loving and knowing smile. She stood up from her chair and took his hand, "Come on, Cool Guy. You must be itching to get back to bed. We can leave the cups here. I'll apologize for leaving them out in the morning."

Mako stood up and and they walked hand in hand back to the bedroom in silence. So much was on Korra's mind. She never thought, even as his lover, that she would get him to open up that much. It was so out of character for him. They got to the room and silently laid their bodies on the bed. Sleep was already washing over Korra when she rested her head on the pillow. She started to close her eyes when she realized something and she shot up in a sitting position.

"Mako, wait!"

Mako turned over to face her, "Yeah?"

"You never answered my question."

"What question?"

Korra inched her face closer to his and soon their noses were touching, "Would your parents have liked me if they met me?"

Mako cupped her face with his hands and gave her a soft kiss. Finally, he pulled away and smiled at her.

"Korra, they would have loved you."

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**Yeah so I just want to explain the thing with the hat. I have this headcannon that the hat Korra wore in The Revelation belonged to Mako and Bolin's mom. It's a woman's hat so what other reason would Mako and Bolin have that like then to keep it as a memento of their mother. The hat also looks pretty beat up so they had to have had the hat for some time.**

** But yeah, this came out longer than I though and had more dialog than what I would usually write. But I hope you guys enjoyed it!**


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